Class : 12
For : All Departments
Full Marks : 100
Pass Mark : 35
Time : 3hrs
Attempt all the questions.
1. Read the following passage and answer the questions below: [5 × 3 = 15]
We were summoned to his room at the end of the day. Under normal conditions, he would welcome us with a smile, crack a joke or two, talk of nothing in particular for a couple of minutes and state the actual business. But today we found him dry and sullen. He motioned us to our seats and said, “Could you imagine a
worse shock for me ? I came across a student of the English Honours who did not know till this day that “honours’ had to be spelt with a ‘u’. He finished his sentence with a sharp, grim laugh. We looked at each other at a loss to know what to reply. Our Assistant Professor, Gajapathy, scowled at us as if it were us who had induced the boy to drop the ‘u’. Brown cleared his throat as a signal for further speech, and we watched his lips. He began to lecture on the importance of the English language, and the need for preserving its purity. Brown’s thirty years in India and had not been ill spent if they had opened the eyes of Indians to the need for speaking and writing correct English !
(a) What did Brown use to do in normal conditions ?
Ans. Brown used to smile, crack a joke or two. After remaining silent for a while, he used to state the actual business of his own.
(b) Why was Brown in a worse shock that very days ?
Ans. Brown was in a worse shock that very days because he had come across a student of the English Honours who had not known how to honour others with the correct pronunciation of English words. The pronunciation of the word made by the student really shocked him.
(c) What did Ganapathy’s scowling indicate ?
Ans. Ganapathy’s scowling indicated that he didn’t have any agreement with the comment of Mr. Brown of English word pronunciation regarding honour to pronounce the word ‘u’.
(d) On what issue did Brown begin to lecture before his college staff?
Ans. Brown began to lecture before his college staff on the importance of the English language, and the need for preserving its purity.
(e) Summarize the passage in about 40 words.
Ans. Mr. Brown had become upset due to the wrong pronunciation of English words by Indian student. He was worried about the loss of purity of English language in India. He emphasized on preserving the purity of English language in both spoken and written form especially in India.
2. Rewrite the following sentences below using ‘must, can’t or might/may‘. [5 × 1 = 5]
(a) Perhaps she didn’t get what you said.
Ans. She mayn’t have got what you said.
(b) I’m sure they have left.
Ans. They must have left.
(c) Maybe the election will be postponed.
Ans. The election might be postponed.
(d) It’s possible that there will be peace in Nepal.
Ans. There may be peace in Nepal.
(e) Obviously the gardener was not serious.
Ans. The gardener can’t have been serious.
3. Choose one of the verbs in the list to report each of the remarks below: [5 × 1 = 5]
urge, insist, advise, suggest, threaten, recommend
Example : It’s very important for you to give up drinks.
Ans: He urged me to give up drinks.
(a) I’ll report you to the police if you don’t do what I say.
Ans. He threatened me to report to the police.
(b) Why don’t you start medicine if you can’t bear the pain.
Ans. He suggested me that I should start medicine.
(c) No, I’ve already told you- I am going to pay.
Ans. He insisted me to pay the bill himself.
(d) You really ought to have your bike serviced, you see.
Ans. He recommended me to have my bike serviced.
(e) You should try it once again. You may win.
Ans. He advised me to try it again.
4. Fill the gaps in the sentences below with ‘for’, ‘in’, ‘until’or ‘by’. [5 × 1 = 5]
(a) Last night we talked ……… two in the morning.
Ans. Last night we talked until two in the morning.
(b) They will be here ……. a couple of hours.
Ans. They will be here in a couple of hours.
(c) She studied Spanish …….. five years.
Ans. She studied Spanish for five years.
(d) The food will be ready ………. 9:30.
Ans. The food will be ready by 9:30.
(e) He learnt to swim ……… three weeks.
Ans. He learnt to swim in three weeks.
5. Write a sentence each using the following information showing right order of the action: [5 × 1 = 5]
Example : clean a wound / bandage it
Yes should clean a wound before you bandage it.
(a) wash your hands / eat.
Ans. You should wash your hands before you eat.
(b) close your windows / go out.
Ans. You should close your windows before you go out.
(c) have some driving lessons / take your driving test.
Ans. You should have some driving lessons before you take your driving test.
(d) clean your teeth / go to bed.
Ans. You should clean your teeth before you go to bed.
(e) test the temperature of the water / bathe the baby.
Ans. You should test the temperature of the water before you bathe the baby.
6. Write a sentence showing how the following pairs of events happened in rapid succession using ‘No sooner’. [5 × 1 = 5]
(a) My grandfather retired / he had a heart attack.
Ans. No sooner had my grandfather retired than he had a heart attack.
(b) Shama went to bed / Shama heard a strange noise.
Ans. No sooner had Shama gone to bed than she heard a strange noise.
(c) The plane took off / three hijackers walked into the cabin.
Ans. No sooner had the plane taken off than three hijackers walked into the cabin.
(d) The new exhibition hall was opened / it was destroyed by fire.
Ans. No sooner had the exhibition hall been opened than it was destroyed by fire.
(e) We had the washing machine repaired / it broke down again.
Ans. No sooner had the washing machine been repaired than it broke down again.
7. Join the following sentence together using a relative clause: [5 × 1 = 5]
(a) Finally Browne decided to retire.
Willis had been sharing an office with him.
Ans. Finally Browne decided to retire with whom Willis had been sharing an office.
(b) The old house was finally sold.
The family had lived in it for 300 years.
Ans. The old house where the
family had lived for 300 years was finally sold.
(c) He proudly showed me round his house.
He had paid 40 lakhs for it.
Ans. He proudly showed me round his house for which he had paid 40 lakhs.
(d) He became quite fond of his college.
He had spent many years of his life there.
Ans. He became quite fond of his college where he had spent many years of his life.
(e) Harold finally asked her to marry him.
She had always been in love with him.
Ans. Harold finally asked her to marry him who had always been in love with him.
8. Write a paragraph predicting future developments concerning world population using the ideas below: Birth control, government control, new sources of food, disease, longer life.
Ans.
Overpopulation
Population consists of males and females and it is always a flux. Every minute’s infants are born and aged or other people die. The total number of people living in a certain place in a certain time is population. It is increasing in an alarming rate. Malthus, a mathematician says that human population always increases to the limit of the food available. Unless rapid increase of population is checked in time, the entire humanity surely faces the troubles of existence. So, the governments of the countries in the world should compose strict rules and regulations by law and order to prevent polygamy. Government should launch the programmes of family planning effectively to control the unwanted birth. Researching task for finding new sources of food should be launched so that we can feed the people. Because of our population, several sorts of total diseases can be seen. Over population increase vulgarity, brutality and they can commit crimes. AIDS has sprayed because of sexual crime. On the other hand modern medicine has made the life of human even longer.
9. Suppose that your foreign friend is visiting Nepal in the near future. Write a letter to him or her describing about the places he or she should visit. (Suppose: you are Bidhyapati and your school’s name is Rara Higher Secondary School, Mugu)[1×10=10]
Ans.
Mugu, Karnali
2 Aug. 2007
Dear Paul,
I received your letter a couple of weeks back but couldn’t reply to you on time due to my tight family schedule It made me feel pleased to know that you are coming to visit Nepal. I c can’t help sharing my happiness with you being restless to receive you with the hearty welcome.
Paul, you must have known some facts and figures of Nepal. This is the land, which stands as the roof of the world with all its dignity Mount Everest stands as natural pillar to the Himalayas. Gautam Buddha the founder of Buddhism philosophy was also born in Nepal. This is to say, you will enjoy sightseeing the beautiful scenes of endless series of snow capped mountains.
Paul, we feel that Nepal is a part of heaven. It has got the boons of Nature. The singing rivers, tranquil lakes, simmering water falls, deepest gorges beautiful, fine flora and faunas, unique landscape, artistic temples and monasteries are all the beautiful ornaments of our mother Nepal. Luckily my locality possesses the greatest lake called Rara lake and we are going to observe a month lasting ‘Rara Festival’ to invite domestic cum foreign tourists.
Kathmandu, the capital city of Nepal, holds many artistic and attractive arts and architects. They fascinate everyone. I hope you would enjoy everything in Nepal. Wish you all the best.
Your sincerely,
Bidyapati Rawal
Rara Higher Secondary School
10. Write a review for a newspaper of a recent film or a play you enjoyed or a book you read. [1 × 10 = 10]
Ans. I’ve recently watch the film ‘Andolan’. It is a Nepali film. I’ve watched it in a computer through CD. Andolan is a story of revenge, love and rivalry.
The film is about a man who deserts his wife and son back in the village and gets married with someone else. Then he becomes Home minister and involves himself in unscrupulous acts with the help of villains.
Leading heroin happens to be a journalist who in search of a sensational reporting sees a police inspector, the hero of the film beating hooligans who are friends’ of the minister son. Thus they come together in course of finding the death of the daughter of a businessman.
The story takes another turn when the deserted woman fights election, gets elected and becomes Home minister in place of her former husband.
11. Write a “police description” of a person you know well. [1 × 5 = 5]
Ans. I’ve known a person for two whole academic years. He is not other than my English teacher. In my perception, he is intelligent. He is tall. He is about 6 feet tall. He has partly white and partly black hair. He wears spectacle. He speaks with loud voice. He usually keeps short moustache and French cut beard. He always wears a tie. He has round and oval face. He has pointed nose and chin. He has slightly bald head. He has wide eyes and bushy eyebrows.
12. Answer any five questions. [5 × 3 = 15]
(a) How did Alyohin define love ? (About Love)
Ans. Alyohin defined love as a mysterious thing beyond all types of social limitations in About Love. Alyohin presented three love stories to define the meaning of love. Love story between Nikanor and Pelageya justified that love is possible between too much unmatchable persons having totally different life ideologies. Love story between Alyohin himself and Anna also justified love as a mysterious thing. Alyohin was graduate and an unmarried person. Anna was married woman and mother of two children. They loved each other but they didn’t know that they loved each other. They only knew that one loved the other. Love between two distinctively different persons like Alyohin and Anna was also possible. So, love is defined as a mysterious flexible thing which is not limited within social, age, caste, religious and class factors. Anton Chekhov tries to justify the meaning and definition of love through Alyohin as an unlimited and unrestricted thing in the world which crosses every type of boundaries.
(b) Why did the boy have to prove who he was? (The Last Voyage of the Ghost Ship)
Ans. This amazing story shows the steady development of a boy into adulthood. In course of his development, he encounters with the ghost ship many times. The more he visualizes the ship the more mature he becomes. Many years ago, when he saw the ship for the first time he was a boy. The ship was amazingly large and heading to the land without any lights and sound. It would disappear if there came the light from the lighthouse. So, the boy thought it was afantastic dream. As he saw the ship next year he told his mother about it and insisted her to see it. But she said that her son had gone down crazy. So, she promised him to see it next year and went to the town to buy a chair asking a boatman to watch her son. As she died, the villagers accused the boy of fetching misfortune into the village. With the evil chair. so, he preferred stealing fish from the boat rather to live on charity. They mercilessly beat him as he asked them to watch the ship.
Eventually, the hatred, rage and the isolation made the boy quite resolute, strong and fearless. He was neither confused by emotion nor frightened by the miracle. It is a sign of his maturity So, the boy when saw the ship suddenly realized that he could control its movement by using the lantern. He took control over the ship and made it follow him to the village church. He felt that all the disbelievers watched all this, being stunned. Thus, he proved his manhood.
(c) What is the main idea of the essay? (Women’s Business)
Ans. Women’s business presents a main idea that business women were much successful in America. They are much popular too. Their production and business benefited many people in different ways. Business women were involve in producing some useful things to women like cosmetics. They produced not only useful things to women but also they suggested and helped to cure the problems of women like nervousness, hysteria, barrenness, and so on. In America business women like Lydia E. Pinkham, Elizabeth, Jenny Grossinger were very much successful and they could earn a lot of money by selling their products due to the means of advertisements, suggestion and inspiration to use their products. So, in conclusion, the essay Women’s Business expresses that even women can do as good business as men can and they get success in business with the help of media and their own courtesy to American women in the form of useful suggestions and tools.
(d) Describe the scene when the narrator killed the old man.(The Tell – Tale Heart)
Ans. When the narrator decided to kill the old man, every night, about midnight, he turned the latch of the old man’s door and opened it gently. Then he pushed his head from the door and sent a ray of light of his lantern to the old man’s eye very slowly so that he might not disturb the old man’s sleep. It took him an hour to place his head within the opening. He did such work for seven long nights but he found the old man’s evil eye always closed and every morning he went to the old man’s room, spoke calling him by name in a hearty tone and inquiring how he had passed the night. On the eighth night the boy was very careful to do such things. But when he pushed his head from the opening to see the old man and was about to open the lantern, his thumb slipped upon the tin fastening and the old man jumped up in bed crying out “Who is there?” The boy stood still saying nothing. He became a symbolic shadow for the death of the old man. He waited for some time very patiently. Then, being courageous, he threw open the lantern and leaped into the room, the old man cried once only. He killed him quickly, dragged him to the floor and pulled the heavy bed over the dead body. Then he removed the bed and examined the corpse but the old man was stone dead. Then the boy thought that the old man’s eye, would trouble him no more. He wanted to hide his crime. So he cut off the head, arms and legs of the corpse. He put the pieces of the dead body under the three wooden planks in the same room. There was no stain of the murder, no blood spot. He finished all that work at four o’clock in the morning.
(e) How do the adoption agencies find the potential parents ?(The Children Who Wait)
Ans. “The Children Who Wait” by Marsha Traugot discusses the adoption system and problems in America in twentieth century. In this story there are three parties: the children waiting for adoption, the family to adopt them and agencies to look after them and to search for suitable adoptive family. In the beginning black and disabled children had to wait for a long time. White and good children were adopted easily. Agents had to find out potential parents especially for black over age, and handicapped children. They had to look for both or one biracial parents for black children. For disabled or handicapped children, the agents had to look for parents who did not think the children could be all rounder or they could think mental capacity was only a factor of life. So, agents had to advertise or give information about the children to the potential parents.
(f) The plan was to go to Porthcawl for the outing. Did they ever reach there ? Why ? (A Story)
Ans. In a story, Thomas and his friend had a plan to go to Porthawl for the outing but they did not reach there because their main intention was to drink in outing. They had no special purpose except drinking. Porthcawl was important for nothing to them. It was only their thing to just say. On the way to Porthcawl they stopped their bus in front of a pub or hotel to drink. They started to drink. They drank till the late afternoon. They forgot to go to Porthcawl because it was not the place in their intention. They drank which was their aim. After 4 p. m. they returned to their village. That’s why, they never reached Porthcawl for the outing.
13. Answer any one of the following questions. [1 × 10 = 10]
(a) Sketch the character of Mrs. Mooney. (The Boarding House)
Ans. Mrs. Mooney, the main character of the story The Boarding House possessed a civilized and conscious character or behaviour. She had a daughter called Polly once fell in love with a boy called Mr. Doran. Gradually, people came to know about their relationship and started to gossip. Finally, Mrs. Mooney came to know the fact. Due to her civilized manner, she didn’t get angry but planned to make a perfect inquiry to find out the fact. If Doran had no bad intention, she would allow them to get married. If not she would take action against him to pay as a compensation. Later on, it is understood that she settled the problems between them and allowed them to go ahead. Before this event, she had started a shop to sell meat. She had two children. She got separated from her husband after he became useless to business. She followed legal process to get separated. She started a business of boarding house where many people stayed from short to long time. From such kind of ideas and schemes of Mrs. Mooney, we can say that she was bold, decisive, responsible, civilized and a perfect woman. On the other hand, she gave responsibility to her daughter and son. Miss Polly had to be responsible to look after the boarding house. It means Mrs. Mooney was conscious to make them independent. So, regarding her character, Mrs. Mooney is courageous, business skilled, and deserving all types of qualities fit in modern time.
(b) “We are always punished for our sins.” Elaborate this statement. (Purgatory)
Ans. The statement ‘We are always punished for our sins” extracted from Purgatory by W. B. Yeats expresses that any person will be ultimately punished for his/her bad and criminal activities. It means all sinners must be punished and punishment is necessary for all defaulters. Yeats makes the speaker say this so to strengthen his idea about punishment and sinners. It is obviously a spiritual and religious expression towards the bad or sinful works and punishment from god. The speaker accepts the reality that every sinner deserves to be punished. God is not blind to punish everybody randomly. He punished only those who commit sins. It gives also idea that no one should make sins or mistakes. God discriminately punishes the sinners . No sinner is excused in his/her life. That’s why, every spiritual factor of religious belief inspires people to remain sacred and mistake less. And every sinner must be ready to accept any kind of punishment.
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